Stress is a silent killer. Normally, your body and mind are enabled to give you multiple signals before the effects of stress become extreme and fatal. The question is - have you been paying attention?
What are the effects of stress on your physical and mental health? What does it do to your body and brain? We’ll explore the physical and psychological effects of stress here along with the results of some research studies on stress.
Stress is, undoubtedly, a part of every aspect of modern-day living today. You could be:
- spending an hour commuting to work
- preparing for an important presentation
- waiting outside the examination hall where your child is giving a college entrance exam
- expecting results of your cholesterol test at the doctor’s office
In each and every scenario stress promises to be your constant companion - though not in the same way or at the same level. We all know stress is dangerous and can even be fatal. Let’s first examine how our body defends itself from it.
How the human body reacts to stress
What happens when you are stressed? The human body is tuned to react to stimulus – whether external or internal – this is called the stress response. What are your responses to stress?
- Your heart rate could increase
What is going on is that the part of the brain that is responsible for emotions, the amygdala sends distress signals to the hypothalamus in the brain, which orders the adrenal glands to release adrenaline and cortisol, the stress hormones. These hormones are responsible for increasing the heart rate. Consequently, the heart pumps and sends blood to the part of the body that needs it the most and this accounts for an increase in the heart rate.
- Your breath could accelerate
In a stressful situation, you breathe faster so that oxygen can be distributed to the body. Blood is pumped to the muscles so that you can act as required. This leads to high blood pressure. If you make your heart pump blood furiously like this frequently, you end up putting too much pressure on it. This makes it weak and susceptible to heart attacks and strokes.
- Your muscles might tighten
This is the body’s natural defense mechanism to protect the body from injury but it can lead to aches, cramps, and sprains of the head, neck, shoulder, and back.
Now, let’s see what effects stress can have on the body.
Effects of stress on the body
- Stress leads to headaches, backaches, and knee pain.
- It can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
- Gynecologists have pointed a finger at stress for irregular menstrual cycles in women and also, low fertility in couples today.
- It also leads to malfunctioning of the different systems in the body – digestive, excretory and reproductive systems. This can explain your stomach aches, nausea, and heartburns.
- Worst of all, especially with contagious diseases like the coronavirus doing the rounds, stress can compromise your immune system.
Now, these are just the physical effects of stress. What about the psychological effects of stress? It affects your brain and mental health too. How?
Psychological effects of stress on the brain
- People tend to become forgetful, and, over time, there is an added risk of contracting Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Researchers at Harvard Medical School have found that under the influence of stress, the brain may shift from cognitive to survival mode and this is the reason for memory loss – more energy goes into survival modes than cognitive abilities.
- According to a 2017 study, stress can cause structural changes in different parts of the brain. Chronic stress can lead to atrophy of the brain mass and decrease its weight. These structural changes bring about differences in response to stress, cognition, and memory.
- Stress can lead to irritability, moodiness, anxiety, and depression.
Chronic stress
When the cause of stress disappears, the emergency response also quietens down. However, when the cause for stress does not go away or repeats frequently, the strain on the heart, lungs, muscles and other organs continues unabated. When you pressurize the body to come up with responses more and more often, it can lead to more serious health risks and complications. This leads to a chronic stress response by the body.
Effects of chronic stress
Chronic stress leads to a build-up of cortisol in the brain. This can lead to impairment of the functionality of the brain – like shrinking of the size of the prefrontal cortex part of the brain, the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning (2012 study by Yale University) The best response to the effects of stress
The best response to the effects of stress
So what should we do? Can we do away with stress altogether? We all know that living without stress is practically impossible today. Even if you live a highly-sheltered life. Such is the nature of the human mind. And some research suggests that stress can even push us to perform better. It is at heightened levels that it becomes dangerous.
So, what we can do is improve our reaction or response to stress. When the body tells you it is stressed, it would be a good idea to examine your schedule.
- Are you eating right?
- Do you sleep the required number of hours and at regular times?
- Are you maintaining a healthy and regular routine every day?
- Do you communicate with your friends and family? Even a satsang group will help alleviate stress.
Also, you can try a fresh perspective when faced with these effects of stress. For instance:
1) A racing heart means your heart is working hard to give you energy when you need it most - try to make it count! After all, the body reacts similarly to both fear and excitement.
2) You may have experienced fast-paced breaths when someone special looked at you like only you exist! That wasn’t such a bad time, was it?!
3) When your muscles tighten, rest, breathe in and out deeply, the muscles need the oxygen and that is their way of communicating with you. Your personal conversation with your body. It’s telling you something. When you respond adequately, the situation resolves itself. Anything in excess is bad. So also with stress.
You can read more about some science-backed methods of relieving stress here.
Yoga, pranayama, and meditation are proven techniques to deal with stress. They make you aware of yourself and your surroundings and help relieve pressures and anxieties in the process.
You can register for the Sahaj Samadhi Meditation here.
Written with inputs from Dr. Sharika Menon, Ayurvaidya, The Art of Living
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